A popular trailhead west of Colorado Springs is slated for a closure this week that is expected to last through the month.

Starting Tuesday, access to Catamount Trail from Hondo Avenue in Green Mountain Falls will be unavailable to hikers “for approximately four weeks,” Colorado Springs Utilities announced.

The reason is “to perform routine maintenance” on the water tank beside the trailhead, the starting point for explorers on their way to the meadow known as Garden of Eden and South Catamount Reservoir. The work “will involve heavy equipment operating at the tank,” Utilities said in an announcement.

The announcement included alternative access to the trail via Belvedere Avenue but advised: “It might be best to choose another route or trail during this maintenance work.”

Green Mountain Falls’ Board of Trustees unanimously approved the closure in a meeting late last month. This happened to coincide with a longer, controversial discussion about the future of trails in town — “a timely accident,” Mayor Jane Newberry called it.

For now, trails remain open in Green Mountain Falls west of Colorado Springs

In response to an official recommendation to close trails around town, several residents spoke out in the meeting, saying the hiking opportunities were essential to quality of life and the town’s economic well-being. Some residents, however, insisted it was time to rethink the trails, situated along residential roads like Hondo Avenue, where foot traffic has increased over the years.

The Board of Trustees has pledged to continue talks with a new, trail-focused organization. Newberry has said the Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Committee would have more of a governmental focus than the Green Mountain Falls Trails Committee, responsible for building and maintaining the foot paths since 2009 before being disbanded by local government this summer.